Hampden's own temper had grown out of it.
As we look on it, we recall the "flowing courtesy to all men," the
"seeming humility and submission of judgement," the "rare affability and
temper in debate," that woke admiration and regard even in the fiercest
of his opponents. But beneath the outer grace of Hampden's demeanour lay
a soul of steel. Buried as he seemed in the affections of his home, the
great patriot waited patiently for the hour of freedom that he knew must
come. Around him gathered the men that were to stand by his side in the
future struggle. He had been the bosom friend of Eliot till the victim
of the king's resentment lay dead in the Tower. He was now the
bosom-friend of Pym. His mother had been a daughter of the great
Cromwell house at Hinchinbrook, and he was thus closely linked by blood
to Oliver Cromwell and connected with Oliver St. John. The marriages of
two daughters united him to the Knightleys and the Lynes. Selden and
Whitelock were among his closest counsellors. It was in steady commune
with these that the years passed by, while outer eyes saw in him only a
Puritan squire of a cultured sort, popular among his tenantry and
punctual at Quarter-Sessions, with "an exceeding propenseness to field
sports" and "busy in the embellishment of his estate, of which he was
very fond."

[Sidenote: Hampden and ship-money.]

At last the quiet patience was broken by the news of the ship-money, and
of a writ addressed to the High Sheriff, Sir Peter Temple of Stave,
ordering him to raise L4500 on the county of Buckingham. Hampden's
resolve was soon known. In the January of 1636 a return was made of the
payments for ship-money from the village of Great Kimble at the foot of
the Chilterns round which his chief property lay, and at the head of
those who refused to pay stood the name of John Hampden. For a while
matters moved slowly; and it was not till the close of June that a
Council warrant summoned the High Sheriff to account for arrears.
Hampden meanwhile had been taking counsel in the spring with Whitelock
and others of his friends concerning the means of bringing the matter to
a legal issue. Charles was as eager to appeal to the law as Hampden
himself; but he followed his father's usage in privately consulting the
judges on the subject of his claim, and it was not till the February of
1637 that their answer asserted its legality. The king at once made
their opinion public in the faith that all resistance would